Lake Rotoiti with new friends

Towards the end of December, Ben and I got a sitter and hiked to Lake Tarawera's hot water beach.

In the absence of our easily distracted children, we managed to complete the hike much quicker than we expected... approximately three hours before the water taxi was scheduled to pick us up.

We met a couple, camping with their daughter and her friend, who offered to take us, in their boat, to hot pool around the corner. One that was more suited for soaking.

We thoroughly enjoyed their company and found them to be a wealth of knowledge on "cool things to do in New Zealand". We topped off our bucket list with a few of their suggestions... including the trip we made to Goat Island.

Another local place that they suggested was the Lake Rotoiti hot pools (which are only accessible by boat). When my friend Beth came to town, I decided to book the two of us in for an evening guided kayak trip, that would stop at the hot pools. Unfortunately, the trip was canceled due to low numbers...

But low and behold, two days later, our new friends invited us for dinner and an evening boat ride to the Lake Rotoiti hot pools. It was perfect.